DECKED OUT: Pride Week is an ideal occasion for queer gear and confetti.

Boston Pride Week 2008 is shaping up to be a joyous smorgasbord of celebrities, literati, dancing, singing, boozing, schmoozing, friends, family, and joyful noises galore. From Friday, June 6, through Sunday, June 15, join the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in celebrating its continual visibility and thriving presence in Boston, by participating in a slew of events across the city as part of the 38th anniversary of Boston Pride.

"It's 'green' leaning, but it's also about preserving and sustaining the world we live in as a [LGBT] community," says Keri Aulita, the vice-president of the Boston Pride Committee's Board of Directors, "We're thinking about how we can be vital and cohesive and relevant. We're doing a lot of things this year to incorporate our theme into the week." In addition to reducing this year's use of paper by moving promotional and registration materials online, event organizers are encouraging attendees to make a conscientious effort to recycle.

There are tons of events at a variety of venues to check out, designed to entertain all ages, cultures, and orientations. Whether you're six or 60 years old, you'll find something that fits your celebration style. We've described some of the highlights below, but for a full schedule of events, check out bostonpride.org.

Wave the flag
Kick off the festivities at noon on Friday, June 6, rain or shine, for the ceremonial flag-raising at City Hall Plaza, which signifies the official start of Pride Week and introduces revelers to the 2008 marshals. Celebrity Marshal LESLIE JORDAN — an Emmy Award–winning actor and author — joins Grand Marshal TIM MCFEELEY, a lawyer and civil-rights and political activist. The posthumous accolade of Honorary Marshal is this year awarded to CORPORAL CIARA DURKIN, an active member of the Boston LGBT community who was killed while serving in Afghanistan in September 2007.

Cooks' tour
They made history as the first couple ever to compete on Bravo's smash reality series Top Chef, and now chefs JEN BEISTY and ZOI ANTONITSAS will add plenty of high-powered spice to Boston Pride. From noon to 2 pm on Tuesday, June 10, hit up Macy's in Downtown Crossing for an afternoon of stargazing and culinary tidbits while Jen and Zoi whip up a tasty cooking demonstration as part of the second annual "Out in Downtown" event. It's the perfect way to show your pride during the workweek while you're stuck at the office. Pop in during your lunch break for a quick glimpse of Jen and Zoi, and maybe pick up some quick tips for dinner while you're at it.

Proud words
Downtown Crossing is actually seeing a lot of Pride action this year, thanks to the second annual book-signing series at the Borders bookstore (10-24 School Street, Boston, 617.557.7188). Authors SCOTT POMFRET (Since My Last Confession), JOHNNY DIAZ (Boston Boys Club), and RICH MERRITT (Code of Conduct) can't wait to scrawl their John Hancock across your title page.

Moldy justice A California law prohibits a woman from driving while wearing a house coat.

Singin' it for themselves If you think that the live music scene in Portland’s gay bars is dominated by karaoke, you’d be dead ... right!

Sex (Circa 2006) On a recent Friday night a line of people were braving the rat-drowning downpour outside the Coolidge Corner Theatre to see the amateur porn medley You Oughta Be in Pictures .

Bad behavior When the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying was illegal, everyone knew that it marked the beginning of a long war.

What Collins won't tell We reported last week that Senator Susan Collins might, just might, have a soft spot in her heart for gays and lesbians.

Watch the film of the play Last September, when Cathy Plourde directed 13 teenage girls in Ugly Ducklings , Carolyn Gage’s acclaimed play about homophobia at a girls’ summer camp, the cast had an audience long before opening night.

Will race enter the race? Two years ago, when Dianne Wilkerson inexplicably failed to submit the necessary signatures to get her name on the Democratic primary ballot for re-election as state senator, a 28-year-old upstart seized the opportunity.

Unchecked power and secrecy — not gays — are the church’s problem Presenting more evidence that it just doesn't get it, the Vatican recently issued new so-called, "psychological screening guidelines" to weed out priest candidates with "psychopathic disorders," but only those related to sexual misconduct — specifically homosexuality.

Fine, don't goat for it Farming animals is a very inefficient, expensive, and environmentally destructive way of producing food and money.

INTERVIEW: ANDY RICHTER | November 25, 2009 We have a chub for Andy Barker, P.I. (just released out on DVD), because we have a major chub for the show’s star, Andy Richter. Richter plays an accountant who is mistaken for a detective-for-hire and decides to just roll with it.

REVIEW: SPREAD | August 19, 2009 If only there were some way to watch a con-artist houseboy give his cougar sugar mama a squirming reach-around, charm the pants off a candy-necklace string of countless empty-eyed Hollywood stick figures, lose his heart to an untouchable social chameleon, and, in the process, find himself .

NORTHERN EXPOSURE | July 29, 2009 While New York is grittier, Los Angeles juicier, and Boston is wicked smahter, for some odd reason it is Montreal that, for two weeks every summer, becomes the epicenter of the comedy universe.

JUST FOR LAUGHS | July 27, 2009 Blogs, Tweets, and comedy video direct from moose country

BEAT THE TWEET | July 22, 2009 Warm weather is supposed to be accessorized by lackaday, by a breezy sensibility best enjoyed with a frosty tall boy in one hand, the sloppy product of a back-yard barbecue in the other. Instead, I find myself struggling to balance my beer between my knees and my overstocked paper plate on my thigh as I furiously poke at my BlackBerry.